The Things We Do
by pinkturtle55
Summary: The case in Chicago is re-opened when the team finds out The Company is real. Women are being traded and killed, but they don't have enough information to make arrests. Instead, two of their own have to go undercover and enter the world of S&M. But can they hold up long enough to find the cell? And if they come back, will they be the same people they were before?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there! It's me and ijustwantyoutoknow co-writing another Criminal Minds story. **

**Warning: There are S&M related themes, but nothing graphic or explicit. The rating is probably a high T, just let us know if you want us to change it. **

**We do not own Criminal Minds**

Derek carried the cake out of his mom's kitchen and set it in front of Desiree.

"_Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Desiree, happy birthday to you!" _

Derek put his hand on her shoulder as she blew out the candles, "Happy 34th Desi," He smiled as he looked around the table at his family.

For the first time in 8 years his cousin, Cindi, was sitting across the table from him. On one side of her was her mom, and on the other, her little boy Anthony.

Slices of cake were passed around, and Anthony, no longer shy around his new family, grabbed for a piece.

"Happy Birthday Aunty!" He grinned showing his teeth.

"Thank you Anthony," Desiree smiled at the new addition to their family.

"Don't forget to use your fork," Cindi reminded him gently as he dug in for a bite.

Morgan smiled at his little nephew who carefully picked up each piece of cake and balanced it on top of his fork before shoving it into his mouth.

As the rest of the family finished eating their cake, Morgan pulled his aunt aside into the kitchen.

"Hey Aunty, how's Cindi been doin'?"

"She's doin' better. She's been seeing a therapist every week, and that's doin' her good," His aunt explained in a hushed tone.

Morgan nodded slowly, "How's she adjusting to having Anthony around all the time?"

"She's had to work with her therapist on disciplining him when he's naughty. The first few weeks she was still acting..."

"Submissive?"

"Yeah... but she's doin' better now. Anthony's a fine young boy."

"Well, you never get over something like that, but it does get better," Derek agreed.

Then the door burst open, "Uncle Derek! Come play catch with me!" Anthony ran over to his uncle and tugged on his hand.

"You go outside and grab the gloves, I'll be there in a minute, Buddy," Morgan promised.

"Okay!" Anthony turned around and ran out of the kitchen and into the front yard.

"You call me if you need anything, kay Aunty?" Morgan said.

"I will, thank you Derek, for everything."

XXX

"How's school goin'?" Morgan asked as he tossed the ball to Anthony.

"Good! I can read books all by myself... mostly." He missed the ball and ran after it as Morgan laughed.

"What grade are you in now?" Morgan asked as he came back, "7th? Or is it 12th?"

"No Uncle Derek, I'm not _old!_"

"Old? Who ya calling old?" Derek mocked offense.

Anthony thought about this for a moment, "Aunty _Sarah_ is _old_." He grinned and laughed.

"Now that's what I like to hear."

The front door opened and Cindi walked outside. "Anthony, I think grandma needs help with the dishes."

"But I was playing with Uncle Derek!" He whined.

"He'll be here when you're done, but right now you need to go help clean up," She held the door open for him and he whined again, but nonetheless went in.

When Anthony was gone, Cindi walked into the yard, "Hey Derek."

"Hey Cindi, what's up?"

"I gotta talk to you about something."

"Okay," Morgan nodded, "wanna walk?"

Cindi nodded and they started down the street together.

After walking in silence for a few minutes, Morgan spoke, "Something on your mind Cin?"

"I didn't tell you everything I knew about The Company," She looked at the ground as she spoke.

"Can you tell me now?" Morgan cast her a worried look.

"You didn't find all of them. The people at The Cabin were just the beginning. You know the contract? The one he made me sign? Well I wasn't the only one... there were others who didn't know it was a game. They didn't think it was a game because... Derek, The Company is real."

"What are you talking about Cindi? I know Malcolm made you think that, and you probably felt like it was-"

"No," She cut him off, "this is no game, Derek. The thing, about how they can trade women and kill them and their families if they try to escape? That part's real, I've seen it happen."

"You mean you've seen them trading women?"

"Yes Derek. It was in a dark room, I was only brought there twice. Each time Malcolm threatened that he could trade me whenever he wanted. He never did trade me, but I've seen others. They're treated as slaves, just like I was."

"Do you know where he took you?" Derek asked.

"No. It was always dark. But I know a name. Malcolm would talk to him while they were there. It was Calvin Shoe. His... wife... her name was Susanne."

"Was?"

"She disobeyed him, tried to escape, and he shot her."

"Cindi, why didn't you tell me about this earlier?" Morgan asked as he turned to look at his cousin.

"I was scared Derek. I had just gotten out, I didn't want to have to go back, I just wanted Anthony away from all of it," Cindi started to choke up.

"It's okay Cin," Derek stopped and put his hand on her shoulder.

"No it's not Derek, I could've helped those women. Some of them were treated even worse than I was. The men, they took S&M to the extreme."

"I know Cindi, but you're helping them now," He smiled sadly at her.

They turned around and headed back to the house. When they got to the front yard Anthony was standing there expectantly with the gloves in his hand.

"Come on Uncle Derek!" He pushed a glove towards Morgan.

"Just give me another minute Buddy, I've got to make an important call, but then we can play," Morgan promised again, and had to look away when he saw the disappointment in Anthony's eyes.

Morgan walked into the garage and pulled out his cell phone.

"Hotchner," Hotch answered on the other line.

"Hey Hotch, it's Morgan. You guys've gotta come to Chicago. This case isn't over, man."


	2. Chapter 2

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**We do not own Criminal Minds**

The team sat around the kitchen table in Derek's old house as he explained what Cindi had just told him. His mom had taken Anthony out to the park, but his sisters, Cindi, and his Aunt were just in the other room.

"A typical S&M relationship stays in the bedroom," Reid explained, "A woman, usually dominant in the workplace, or even at home, wants the chance to be submissive. But she does it in a safe environment with someone she trusts."

"Yeah, but this son of a bitch has taken the S&M out of the bedroom and has started living it," Morgan hissed.

"Garcia, were you able to get anything about Calvin Shoe?" Emily asked.

"Yes," She pressed a few buttons on her laptop, "Calvin Shoe has been arrested countless times for domestic abuse. He was suspected for the murder of his wife, but there wasn't enough evidence." She explained.

"So we have a name," Rossi started, "But there's likely to be a whole ring. We can't just go after this one man, not without something on him. These people are a tight knit community and aren't likely to turn on each other."

"Then what do we do?" JJ asked.

"We've gotta get someone in there who can find the rest of the members," Rossi said.

"How exactly would we do that?"

"We'd have to put someone undercover. Someone who can infiltrate this group and find all of the members," Rossi explained.

Morgan looked up, "I'll do it."

"No," Hotch said, "You're too close to this case already. They may even know who you are."

"Then who?" Morgan asked, "No offense, but Reid doesn't really fit the profile of a dominant, and Rossi doesn't fit the age range of these UNSUBS."

"I'll do it." Everyone looked at Hotch as he spoke up.

"What will you do about Jack?" Reid asked.

"He can stay with his aunt, but I also know he's been dying to see Henry."

JJ nodded, "Will wouldn't mind having him over."

"But you can't go in alone," Rossi added, "A single male isn't going to get into an S&M group."

JJ and Emily both looked at each other and then glanced back to the rest of the group.

"I can," Emily said before JJ was even able to open her mouth.

"But Emily-"

"I have experience undercover, and I live alone. No one will miss me if I go underground," Emily explained as she thought about Henry and Will. She felt Hotch's eyes on her and shifted uncomfortably.

She turned her gaze to meet his and raised her eyebrows. He nodded slightly and looked away, but Emily could still picture the dark eyes that had clouded her mind ever since she'd met him.

"Maybe you should go talk to Cindi," Rossi said, "getting an idea of how to act will help you."

"Let me come with," Morgan said standing up.

"No," Emily stopped him, "Let her talk to a woman."

Emily left the kitchen and found Cindi sitting at the dining room table alone.

She sat down across from her. It was strange to be in Morgan's old house again. She looked at the woman they had found just four months ago. Back then she had looked reserved, even scared, but now she looked better. Healthy and happy. But Emily could see the haunting in her eyes. It probably came from having this all come back. Emily knew what it was like to have the past come back to haunt you, especially when you just wanted to bury it.

"How are you doing Cindi?" Emily asked and met the other woman's eyes.

"I'm doing good… or at least I was."

Emily smiled sadly, "I'm sorry we have to talk about this."

Cindi shook her head, "It's not your fault. I should have told you right away."

"Don't blame yourself for this Cindi; four months ago you weren't the same person you are today. What matters is that you did it now. It takes a lot of courage to talk about this," Emily said, not an ounce of deception in her voice.

Cindi nodded her head slowly and then looked up to Emily, "What do you need to know?"

"I'm going to be going undercover with one of the other agents on our team. I need to know how to look, how to act, what to say, anything that could help us become accepted into The Company."

Cindi closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, "You don't want to go in there."

"Just tell me anything you can Cindi, please."

She took in a deep breath, "For all these people S&M isn't a game, it's a religion, and it's a way of life. You can't talk to others unless he allows you to. You wear clothes out in public that hide the bruises he gives you. You can't ever talk back to him, or defy what he says. You can't talk about leaving, and you can't tell anyone else. If he trades you, you can't fight it. If you do, then he will punish you. It's usually physical punishment, but not always."

Emily grimaced as she heard these details but forced herself to ask, "What kind of punishment? We need to know what they will expect of us."

Cindi looked down and clenched her hands together on the table, "If it's around other members in The Company, its physical. He might choke you or punch you. It it's in public he'll grab your arm and squeeze it or something more discreet until you get away. If you're home…" She took a breath before she continued, "He might tie you up to the bed, or make you sit at the table with a box on your head. Lock you in a closet, or tie you up in bondage," Cindi coughed to disguise a crack in her voice, but Emily caught it.

Emily leaned forward and reached out her hands, resting them on Cindi's, "It's okay, he's not here anymore, but you are doing so much to help us."

Cindi nodded and a tear slipped down her cheek, "I haven't ever told anyone what he did."

Emily's heart broke as she heard the deep sadness in Cindi's voice. "I'm so sorry for what happened Cindi."

"You just think it's all over, but it's not. It never really is."

"I understand," Emily said, she really did, "But sometime, it may be a long time from now, you won't think about it. It may always be there, but it's easier to forget."

"I hope that day comes soon."

"Me too."

Morgan opened the door to the dining room and looked inside. Emily nodded at him so he came over to the pair.

"I think I'm going to go step outside," Emily said, looking between Morgan and Cindi. She gave Cindi an encouraging smile before she left the dining room.

XXX

Emily stood on the front porch of Derek Morgan's childhood home. She looked at the stars hanging in the sky's vast expanse of unknown. She wrapped her arms around herself and sighed, after talking to Cindi she didn't know what to think about going undercover.

"You doing alright?" Hotch said from behind her. She heard the swinging screen door shut. Emily didn't turn to face the unit chief.

"I made you a coffee." He stopped when he was standing next to her and held the coffee out to her. Emily took it and whispered a soft thank you. As they stood in silence, the uncomfortable air that had been between them disintegrated.

"You do know that this is going to change things, don't you?" Hotch asked seriously, looking to the woman standing closed off next to him. Emily only nodded.

"We need to talk about this." Hotch pressed, Emily finally looked at him.

She sighed, "We go undercover, catch the bad guys and then it's done. Forgotten." Emily shrugged her shoulders, "I've been undercover before."

Images of her past affairs with Doyle flashed behind her eyes.

"It's not that simple, Emily." Hotch interrupted Emily's thoughts, "You and I both know that this kind of relationship takes a toll on someone."

Emily moved her eyes around, trying to put them on anything besides Hotch's.

"Emily, I just want to know if you'll be able to look me in the eye after this."

"I know, and I will, Aaron. I've been around you enough to know that we're acting. It'll all be an act."

Emily offered a tight smile and turned back to the stars. She placed the coffee on the small porch table. She felt Aaron's warm hand move to her shoulder, a place it had been before and it always offered the same comfort.

"I'm going to have to hurt you." Aaron whispered, his breath tickled her cold ear. Emily shivered at the sensation.

"I've been hurt before." Emily countered, she felt Hotch's hand squeeze her shoulder.

"Like this?" Aaron kept his voice low, Emily shook her head.

"Not exactly, but I know you Aaron. I know it's not you." Emily put a slender hand on top of Hotch's. She felt him sigh.

"I don't want to hurt you." Emily turned to face him and their eyes met for a moment.

"I said it before, Aaron. I've been undercover before. I know what I'm getting into, I've done my research."

Aaron studied her for a minute, "I don't want this to change anything."

Emily smiled gently and nodded, "It won't, we'll be fine."

She took her hand off of Hotch's and brushed past him, picking up her cold, and still full mug of coffee, "Thanks for the coffee, Aaron."

Hotch nodded and watched as Emily went back into the warmth of the house.


	3. Chapter 3

**You guys are all so great with the reviews and the favorites and alerts! It always means so much to us to see you are enjoying our story!**

**We do not own Criminal Minds**

Emily stood in the doorway of Sarah's old bedroom and watched as the woman took clothes out of her dresser, "What are you looking for?"

"Do you have any long sleeved shirts, scarves, turtlenecks, or anything else like that?" Emily asked eyeing the assortment of clothes.

Sarah looked through the piles and shook her head, "Sorry, they're mostly just short sleeves."

"That's okay," Emily sighed, "I can go get some." She left the bedroom and met JJ as she walked down the hall.

"Hey Jayje," Emily stopped her, "I have to go get some clothes to bring undercover, do you want to come?"

"Sure," JJ turned around and together they walked downstairs.

XXX

The two women flipped through clothes, Emily pulled out a long sleeved navy blue shirt, "This one will work."

JJ handed her a pile of scarves to look through, and Emily chose three of them.

"It better not be hot outside, or I'm going to die in these clothes," Emily groaned as she took a green turtleneck off its hanger to try on.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" JJ asked.

"They're just clothes."

"I'm not talking about the clothes Emily. I mean are you okay with going undercover?"

"It's fine, JJ. Just part of the job. Plus, I've done it before," Emily explained as she grabbed a black jacket.

"And how exactly did that work out?"

Emily gave JJ a look, "I'm fine now, and I'll be fine after this."

"Well I guess you're the best candidate anyway, with you having an outside relationship with Hotch." JJ picked up a shirt and studied it for a moment before throwing it over her arm and moving to the next shelf.

Emily snorted, "I wouldn't call it a relationship, Jayje."

"More of a relationship than he has with anyone else on the team," JJ said, "You'll be able to read him better, you know _Aaron, _the rest of the team knows Hotch."

Emily shrugged her shoulders, "I guess, this came up just as I thought I was getting somewhere with him, too."

JJ sent Emily a sly smile, "Who knows, Em. This might be the part where _Aaron _realizes that he's hopelessly in love with you."

Emily rolled her eyes as they walked towards the fitting rooms, "Yeah, then comes the part where he never says anything because he feels bad about hurting me."

"Jeez, rain on your own parade why don't you." JJ said as she handed Emily the garments she was carrying and the door shut.

XXX

Emily and JJ walked back into the house and Rossi pulled them both into the kitchen. They sat down along with Hotch, Garcia and Reid, and Rossi put a file in front of Emily.

"While you two were off on a shopping spree, I was able to get you and Hotch your identities. I introduce you to Aaron and Emily Hamilton." Rossi said.

"Hamilton?" Emily almost gagged.

"Aaron Hamilton is a very successful freelance computer programmer who works from home. And Emily Hamilton does not have a job," Rossi said, ignoring Emily's comment.

"Sounds like fun," Emily sneered.

"Prentiss!" Hotch barked, irritated at the constant interruptions.

"Sorry." Emily widened her eyes and looked down at the file.

Rossi looked between the pair, but continued on, "You're lucky, there was a house for sale across the street from our Mr. Shoe and we got it. Morgan and Garcia will be running constant surveillance on them, and we'll have cameras and bugs placed in your house. You'll have to get invited to Shoe's house so you can get some bugs there."

"How exactly are we going to form a relationship with Shoe?" Emily asked.

"With Shoe living right across the street, he will probably be curious about his new neighbors. We'll plant the seed by having you two make a… ruckus. And then you'll run into him at an S&M store." Rossi explained.

Suddenly the door swung open and Garcia and Morgan entered. Garcia was holding a large black bag with the words: Painful Pleasures, in red.

"That was not a trip I enjoyed," Morgan said as Garcia dropped the contents onto the table.

Hotch's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open, "People _use _these things?"

"_You_ get to use these things," Rossi hid a smirk.

"Hey, I'm not finding this so funny right now," Emily looked at the pile, "What the hell is this?" She asked holding up square metal contraption.

She paused for a moment and then dropped it back onto the table, "Nevermind, I don't _want _to know."

Garcia pulled out two books from behind her back, and dropped them in front of the two disgusted agents, "I thought this might help." It was the official guide to S&M and bondage.

"Oh God..." Emily groaned as she flipped through the book, "There are _pictures!_"

"For those who may not understand the text," Garcia laughed.

Emily shot her a glare, "Do not laugh. You're not the one who has to wear this... this chastity belt for who knows how long."

"Well that my dear, is all up to Hotch," Rossi looked at the man.

Hotch stood up and tucked the book under his arm. He gave the team one final look, and then left the room.

Reid dropped the unknown leather item he was holding and looked up to the team, "I guess he's going to go catch up on his reading."

**We hope you enjoyed, things will really start to pick up in the next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

**We do not own Criminal Minds**

Hotch had a bag in one hand, and his other was tightly locked around Emily's waist. They stood in front of the house which was a two story blue house with a small front yard. Their neighbors to the right and left were close and the houses looked similar.

"Here we are, I guess," Emily looked to Hotch who let go of her to unlock the front door. They stepped inside and looked at the fully furnished house. Hotch handed the bag to Emily, "Go put this in the bedroom, I'll be back with the suitcases."

Emily nodded obediently and walked up the steep staircase. Upstairs there were two bedrooms. One that would become Hotch's office and the other would be their bedroom. Emily walked into the bedroom and stopped when she saw the bed. It was only full- sized, not a king, not even a queen. It was practically a twin mattress.

She put the bag that contained their "toys" into the closet. She heard the front door close, "You forgot the... headbox in the car," Hotch said, and threw it on the dining room table before walking upstairs.

"Sorry Aaron, I think we have a Peeping Tom on our hands," Emily said. Hotch walked up next to her and looked outside the window. Their room was in the front of the house, so it looked right onto Shoe's. They could see him standing in his front yard looking up at them.

"Well then let's give him a show," Hotch said as he closed the blinds.

XXX

Emily slammed the bedroom door shut and then looked at Aaron. "Let's have it."

"What?"

"You wanted to give this son of a bitch a show, now give it," Emily walked up to him and put her hand on his chest.

Hotch closed his eyes and swallowed, he grabbed her by the upper arms and stood there. Emily could see he wasn't moving, so she pushed him up against the wall, "You call that dominant, Hotchner?" She whispered into his ear.

Hotch blinked slowly and then looked Emily in the eyes, "Emily..."

"What is it Aaron, scared? Scared that you can't dominate a woman?" She pulled him back from the wall and pushed him harder this time.

Hotch clenched his jaw and threw Emily down onto the bed. He pinned her there and could see Emily's smile.

He pulled her up from the bed and pushed her against the curtained windows, "How's this for dominant?"

"I dunno," Emily shrugged, "I've seen better."

Hotch pushed her towards the dresser, where she stumbled, but stayed standing.

"I've been held captive by Doyle and this is all you've got?" She picked up the lamp and threw it against the wall where it shattered to the floor.

"How _dare _you break that lamp, it was my favorite," Hotch stalked towards her and pushed her with all he had.

Emily flew backwards and her head came into contact with a picture of a house on a lake. The glass shattered around her, "DAMMIT!" She yelled.

"I'm sorry..."

"What? You're gonna stop now, while you're ahead? Come on Aaron," Emily leaned up from against the wall, but Hotch pushed the dresser and it slammed to the wall next to her.

"Stop it, please!" Emily yelled, and smiled at Hotch who was breathing heavily.

Then off in the distance they heard sirens. Emily and Hotch looked wide eyed at each other and stood in silence. But much to their disdain the sirens did not continue, but stopped in front of their house. Hotch looked out the window and saw a police cruiser, "Dammit, the cops are here."

"Punch me," Emily said.

"What?"

"You think they're gonna believe all that just happened, and I don't have a visible wound? Punch me," Emily took another step towards Hotch.

"I can't," Hotch whispered, his hands were shaking.

"Aaron, if you want to do this, if you want to catch those bastards, you have to."

Hotch drew his arm back and punched Emily on her right cheek. Her head moved under the contact, but she regained her composure, "Come on, Reid can punch harder than that."

They heard knocking on the front door, so Hotch brought his fist back and swung as hard as he could. Emily stumbled to the ground and brought her hand to her cheek. She tasted blood, but ignored it.

"Come inside, please! We're upstairs!" Emily yelled loud enough for it to be heard outside.

Hotch gave her a questioning look.

"It might look good if you're arrested. Don't worry, I'll bail you out." Emily gave him a wink as two uniformed officers rushed into the room.

One of the officers grabbed Hotch roughly and sat him down in a chair. The other kneeled down in front of Emily, "Ma'am, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she purposefully let a tear fall.

"Can I help you up?"

Emily nodded and let the officer lead her to the corner of the bed. "Do you need medical assistance?"

"I'm okay," She whispered.

The officer looked unconvinced, "I think I should call an ambulance."

"No," Emily stopped him, "It's okay, just a little bruise."

"Here, at least take this ice pack." He took one from his bag and she rested it on her cheek bone. "Can I get your name?"

"It's Emily Hamilton."

"How do you know this man?"

"It's Aaron Hamilton, he's my husband."

"Can you tell me what happened?" The officer looked at the broken picture and lamp.

"It's nothing, just a little misunderstanding. I tripped into that picture, and you know... dropped the lamp." As Emily said these words she couldn't understand how a woman would be able to defend someone who would do this, a _monster_.

"You're neighbors reported they heard yelling and shouting."

"Aaron got a little mad when I dropped the lamp, but he didn't hurt me or anything. It was all my fault, all of it was, not his at all."

"Emily, I know that's not what happened," the officer said gently.

Emily regretted making this officer's job more difficult than it probably already was, but a submissive woman would always defend their dominant partner. Even if they got hurt, they would blame it on themselves, "It was all my fault," She repeated.

The officer looked at her sadly and then turned to his partner, "I'll be right back." He stood up, and Emily could hear them talking.

"We have enough to arrest him on the domestic assault. His knuckles have blood on them, and look at the state of this room. The woman won't admit what he did though." The officer who had spoken to Emily said.

"It's okay, this son of a bitch said he might have accidentally pushed her."

Emily sat there and watched as they put Hotch in handcuffs and led him out of the room. The other officer came over and spoke to Emily, until he too eventually followed.

Emily looked in the mirror and saw a red mark showing quite nicely before she hurried down the stairs and got outside right as they put him into a cruiser. She crossed her arms and stood there as she watched them drive away.

Shoe was still in his front yard, so he walked over.

"Hello," He said "I'm Calvin Shoe, I live across the street."

"I'm Emily Hamilton, my husband is Aaron, we just moved in."

"I see that," He looked Emily up and down in a way that made her want to shower, "Do you mind me asking what happened?"

"It was just some misunderstanding, the cops didn't understand."

"They never do," Shoe agreed, "So what _did_ happen?"

"I was just getting what I deserved," Emily looked at Shoes feet.

"Oh, is that right?"

Emily nodded, "I need to go get my jacket, I'll be right back."

Emily hurried inside, and once she was out of his sight she took out her phone.

"Rossi, change of plans. Hotch has been arrested and I'm with Shoe"

**Wow! Things are really starting to get interesting now! You're all so great, and we'd love to hear what you think :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey all! We love the response we have been getting from everyone!**

**We do not own Criminal Minds**

"Hotch was arrested? What the hell were they doing to get him arrested?" Morgan hissed.

Rossi shrugged at the agent. "Well they've already had contact with Shoe, so they're doing something right." Rossi said, paying no attention to Derek's reaction.

"Do you think Em's hurt?" JJ asked in a quiet voice, her hands folded on her lap.

"She was able to call me, Shoe's with her now," Rossi told the team, "Now we need to leave those two alone and focus on how we're going to be in contact and how we're going to get bugs on Shoe."

Morgan sighed angrily and left the room, JJ following quickly after.

"Morgan!" She called, "Wait up!"

Derek continued to storm out of the house and onto the driveway.

"Derek!" JJ yelled, jogging over to him, he turned abruptly to face JJ.

"What is it JJ?" He fumed, running a hand over his head.

JJ rested a hand on her hip, "Rossi is right, we need to be focusing on pinning Shoe and the rest of the ring. We can't fret about what is or is not happening in that house."

Morgan gave JJ a look, "I'm not standing by while Emily gets hurt!"

"Hey," JJ put a hand on Morgan's arm, "You know that Hotch would never hurt Emily really badly."

Morgan gave a dark chuckle, "Well somethin' pretty rough must've been going on for the cops to be called."

JJ sighed, "Morgan, you know they are trying to get Shoe's attention. And you know that thinking about this isn't helping those other women in that ring, women that are actually being traded, beaten, and even killed." JJ pointed to the house, "So instead of trying to save a friend that's perfectly safe, why don't we go back in there and save some women who aren't."

Morgan nodded, though his eyes still held rage, "Fine, but don't think I'm letting this go that easy."

The corner's of JJ's lips twitched up, "I didn't think you would."

The pair walked back into the house and rejoined the team. Reid sent a questioning look JJ's way and she shrugged her shoulders.

"What're we doing?" Morgan asked, getting right to the point.

Rossi looked at Morgan as if the answer were obvious, "We are making sure Hotch gets out of jail." Rossi picked up the phone and called the station, "This is David Rossi with the FBI, yes I'd like to speak with Chief Rawlins."

There was silence on the other line for a moment, "Yes, you are holding an undercover FBI agent right now."

Rossi nodded as the Chief spoke, "No, we need it to look real, hold him until someone makes bail. Treat him like any other, we just need to make sure he's able to get out."

Morgan sighed, deciding there was nothing he could help with here and decided to locate Garcia's makeshift lab.

As he left he heard Rossi say, "We are trying to infiltrate a human trafficking ring in the city, so we'd prefer if you kept our presence to yourself. Thank you."

Derek walked down the hallway of his familiar childhood home until he reached the room Garcia and JJ were sharing. "Hey baby girl, you got anything for me?"

Garcia turned to face him, "Not yet my chocolate god, just the feed of Emily and Hotch's house." Garcia pursed her purple colored lips and looked to Morgan.

Morgan sighed, "C'mon Mama, you've gotta have more than that."

"Sorry, I have everything on Shoe, so until we get into the ring...there's not much I can do." Garcia told him sadly.

Morgan sat on the bed, "What happened to get Hotch arrested?"

Garcia turned away, "You know very well what happened in that house, Derek Morgan. You do not need me to explain it to you."

Morgan leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, "I need to see it, Baby girl."

"Well you'll have to find it somewhere else, and I assure you, you won't." Garcia stated. She typed frantically on her laptop and pulled up some records on Shoe, "I'm going to look into people Shoe's been contacting frequently and cross-reference it with domestic abuse records and assault charges."

Derek nodded, "Finding people who fit the profile."

"I'll tell you if I find anything." Garcia said, beginning to type again, "Now get out, I can't work if you're in here distracting me with your muscles."

XXX

"I need to get him out! I need to get him out!" Emily paced frantically up and down the front yard as Shoe watched her, "He's going to kill me if I don't get him out."

"Tomorrow he'll go in front of a judge. You go testify, say he didn't do anything. Tell them the truth; say it's all your fault. Then they'll let him out on bail," Shoe explained, knowing this through experience.

"But they won't let me bail him out, will they?" Emily kept her eyes huge and frantic as she hoped Shoe would catch on.

"Oh yeah, you being the wife and all. If you give me the money, I'll bail him out for you."

"Oh thank you so much! Would you like to come inside for a drink Calvin?" Emily offered.

"Yes, but its Mr. Shoe." He commanded as they walked towards the front door.

"Of course it is, sorry," Emily bit back a string of curse words and welcomed him inside, "Please sit down, and I'll go get you some coffee."

"Cream, no sugar."

"Of course." Emily hurried into the kitchen and as the coffee started she pulled out her cell phone. She made a text and sent it to Rossi:

_Shoe is in the dining room_

When the coffee was done she put it in a mug with cream and brought it back. When she sat it down, she saw Shoe eyeing the head box that Hotch had left in there.

"Sorry," She smiled, "I sometimes forget to clean up after myself." She picked it up and put it in the otherwise empty front closet.

"Greta used to have that problem, but I made sure she learned," Shoe said slowly as he eyed Emily.

"That's what Aaron would be doing if he hadn't been arrested," She assured him.

"I'm sure he'll have the chance when we get him out on bail."

Emily nodded, but wanted like hell to get away from this creep.

Like he read her mind he said, "I should get home, I have some plans for the wife."

"Of course," Emily stood up and showed him out of the house, taking a deep breath once he was gone.

XXX

The next morning Emily sat in the courtroom next to Shoe. She was wearing a conservative long sleeved dark blue top and black pants. Her head was pounding, the pain had worsened from yesterday when she slammed it on the picture. She prayed they'd be able to get Hotch off on bail, or else this whole undercover operation would just go to hell. She heard the courtroom door slam shut so she turned around and silently let out a thanks when she saw her team walk in. They went through many different cases, but Emily wasn't really listening to them. Finally they called up Aaron Hamilton and Emily had to go up.

XXX

"That son of a-" Morgan started when Emily sat down in the courtroom, but JJ nudged him and he stopped, "Do you see what he did to her?" Morgan asked as he saw Emily's face. The red mark had blossomed into an arrangement of blues and purples across the right side of her face.

"Morgan, you have to remember who you're talking about, it's Hotch," JJ reminded him.

"I don't care who the hell did it, look at her! Who knows what's hidden beneath her long sleeved shirt." He clenched his hands together.

"Morgan, this is why Hotch didn't want to put you undercover. Yeah, I hate that Emily has to get hurt, and I wish she didn't, but we can't do this unless she does. We need to help these women, and this is the only way to do it. Hotch knows what he's doing, and Emily knows what has to be done."

"I still don't like it."

"And I don't expect you to, but you need to understand that when Hotch and Emily are no longer undercover, it wasn't Hotch that hurt her, it was Hamilton," JJ huffed, but stayed silent as Emily testified about being clumsy, and it being her fault. Just as promised, Hotch was put out on bail.

XXX

After Hotch was let out of bail Shoe walked up to him, "Nice to meet you Aaron, my name is Calvin Shoe, I'm a neighbor."

"Nice to meet you Calvin," He smiled as they shook hands, "Thank you for helping my wife, I'm surprised she could do something right."

"Ah yes," Shoe observed, "She does seem to lack in some forms of... obedience."

Hotch smiled tightly, "We're working on it."

"Can I give you some advice? 'Work on it' in the basement, that way the neighbors won't hear her scream."

**Ooooh! We finally got a good look at Shoe! And we got to see Morgans protective side!**

**Keep reviewing :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! You are so awesome with all the reviews and favorites, keep them coming! So there was a question we got, and I forgot to answer in the last chapter, so here it goes. A few of you are inquiring on whether or not Hotch and Prentiss had an established relationship. When we wrote this they didn't, but they did have an established friendship. Let me know if there are any more questions! **

**We do not own Criminal Minds**

Emily and Hotch walked into their new home, shutting and locking the door behind them. Neither of them said anything until their jackets were off and hung in the closet and their shoes on the rack.

"I'm going to catch a shower," Hotch told Emily. She turned to face him and his eyes turned dark at the sight of her face.

"Emily I-" He started, she waved him off.

"It's fine, it had to be done. Go take your shower I'll make something for lunch."

Hotch shook his head, "You don't have to,"

Emily cut him off, "I want to, you've been stuck in a jail cell all night. It's the least I can do."

Hotch nodded at her and began making his way up the steps, "Thanks."

Emily waved him off one more time before moving into the kitchen. In reality, her head was aching from her collision with the picture frame and her face felt warm and swollen.

Her cheek throbbed and she was trying to ignore the aches in her body. Emily opened a few cabinets, searching for something to eat until she heard the shower turn on.

Emily leaned up against the counter and closed her eyes, trying to compartmentalize with what little alone time she had. Her head still throbbed and she began tearing the cabinets apart for advil, ibuprofen, anything that would ease the pain.

She couldn't let Hotch see, it would only make him feel worse. She tried to remember where they'd put them the day before and cursed when she realized they put them in the medicine cabinet.

Emily grudgingly grabbed a can of soup and dumped it into a pan, sighing heavily as she placed it on the stove.

As the soup began to boil the shower upstairs stopped. Emily ladled the hot soup into two bowls and set them at the counter. After two minutes of waiting, Emily grabbed one of the bowls and a spoon and went to the table. She'd only eaten a few bites when Hotch came down the steps and came into the kitchen.

"What did you make?" He asked, his hair still wet. Emily couldn't help but study him for a moment.

She cleared her throat, "Um, soup. It's on the counter."

He nodded, "Thanks." He walked over and sat next to Emily, who had turned back to her own meal.

She could feel Hotch's eyes on her and after a few minutes she suppressed a sigh and faced him.

"Aaron, it's not that bad."

His eyes were dark and Emily hated the distressed look that they held.

"I am so sorry," He hesitantly reached his hand out to brush his fingers over Emily's bruised cheek. The gentle sensation sent shivers up her spine and she allowed her eyes to fall shut.

"You were doing your job."

"I wish it wasn't my job to hurt you, it's not right." Hotch's eyes raked over Emily's features. Emily reached out and grabbed Hotch's hand in hers.

"Aaron, look at me." Emily ordered gently. Hotch's eyes met hers, "I'm okay, we're okay, I'm not mad at you and I know that you're sorry."

Hotch nodded absently and Emily pulled him into a hug which he quickly returned. His arms wrapped around her and pulled her torso flush with his. One hand rested on the back of her head, and Emily ignored the way it made the sensitive area tweak. The other arm was wrapped around her middle, Emily's head resting on his broad shoulder.

Emily felt him rest his cheek on her head and turn a little to breathe in the scent of her hair, "Okay." He whispered, "Okay."

Emily shut her eyes and reveled in the tight embrace. Emily pulled away and gave Hotch a light pat on the chest, "You should finish your soup before it gets cold, I'm going to freshen up."

Hotch cleared his throat and nodded, "Yeah, okay. I'll clear the dishes, you go do whatever it is you need to."

Emily gave him one last reassuring smile before leaving the room.

XXX

Hotch picked up his cell phone as it rang, "Hamilton," he answered.

"Hotch, it's Morgan. Rossi wanted me to tell you that Shoe's at the S&M store on 3rd and Wayland," he paused for a moment, "What the hell were you thinking, man? Hurting her like that?"

"Agent Morgan, this is the job. If you can't handle that, then I suggest you get out of our way so we can," Hotch slammed his phone shut and brought his hand up to his temples.

"Morgan?" Emily asked as she walked up behind him.

Hotch nodded, "I'm going to the S&M store, why don't you talk to the team and see if they have anything new."

"Shouldn't I come with?" Emily asked.

"I think Shoe will respond better if I'm there alone."

Emily nodded, it made sense. He wouldn't want to talk to a _woman_.

XXX

Hotch walked into the store Painful Pleasures and was overtaken by the amount of leather and chains. He walked over to the bondage section and started looking at the handcuffs, at least something he was comfortable with.

"Well if it isn't Aaron Hamilton," A voice behind him said.

Aaron turned around and saw Shoe standing there with a metal contraption he really didn't want to know more about, in his hand. "Calvin, what a coincidence seeing you here."

Shoe shrugged, "I figured you'd be around."

Hotch smiled, "The stores here are bigger than in Virginia."

"Chicago's a bigger place, more things are accepted here."

"I would hope so; I was getting bored with the small time crap they sold. Fake leather, cuffs with safety releases; I mean seriously, how much fun is that?" Hotch cracked a smile as he pulled a pair of handcuffs off the wall, "Now these are the real deal."

"I can give you my word that your wife won't get out of them," Shoe laughed, "Were you a part of any groups in Virginia?"

"Their selection was quite… limited. Nothing that fit my taste, it wasn't serious enough."

"Have you joined any since you've arrived?"

"Not yet, do you have any suggestions?" Hotch tried to keep his voice from being eager.

"There's a group, meets every Thursday."

"That's tonight," Hotch observed.

Shoe nodded, "It's a club downtown called Spankies."

"Will I see you there?"

"Maybe," Shoe held up his full black bag, "But then again, I might be too busy."

XXX

"You got plans for tonight?" Hotch asked as he walked through the front door.

"Oh of course," Emily replied sarcastically, "all the friends that I've made in our time here are just lining up to see me."

"Well you're gonna have to tell them no, Shoe just gave me a club, called Spankies. He told me to go tonight."

Emily raised her eyebrows, "Do you think this could be the one?"

"It's possible, so we can't take any chances. We need to have surveillance cameras on us."

XXX

For the rest of the day the BAU got prepared. Garcia had live footage streaming to her laptop with both video and sound from small bugs in their clothing. Emily put on another long sleeved shirt, and Hotch wore a leather jacket and a pair of jeans. The entire day all they could think about was what could happen.

They had gotten the location for the club and set up a base in a hotel across the street.

When nine o'clock rolled around Emily and Hotch got into their car and drove to the club. From the outside it looked like your typical club, but the windows were blacked out, and there were signs outside announcing 'Adult Play', but it didn't sound like the trading they had heard about.

"I won't let anyone lay a hand on you," Hotch promised before they got out of the car.

Emily smiled and followed him to the club where she opened the door for him. The first thing they saw when they got inside was a woman in full body spandex with a whip in her right hand.

"I think I might have to protect you," Emily smirked as they saw another woman drag a man in chains down the hall, he was grinning childishly.

A woman wearing bright red lipstick who had a police baton in her hand walked up to the pair, "Hello, are you here for an appointment, or free play?"

Emily looked up and down the room, "Is this all… woman domination?"

"That's the only way we do it here."

Hotch jumped forward as a woman in with boots laced up to her thighs slapped his butt, Emily hid a smile and took charge of the conversation, "We're new to town. All the appointments, they're for men?"

"My madams always enjoy an audience if that's what you'd like."

"Are there a lot of clubs like this? I mostly just see ones with male domination," Emily inquired.

"That's what you see a lot of in the big city, but we've made ourselves a reputation for women domination," The woman had started to eye Hotch, "I could get you an appointment with Madam Mischief."

"Sounds tempting, but Aaron here's been a bad boy, so he has to go home now, and meet his own Madam Misery," Emily grabbed Hotch by the arm, "March," She ordered.

Hotch almost rolled his eyes, but decided it'd be easier to just march out of the building before Emily changed her mind and _did _get him an appointment with Madam Mischief.

"We got played," Emily said as they got back in their car.

"You think he did it on purpose?"

"Like she said, it's a known Woman Domination club, he would know that."

"So he did know, and he was what? Testing us?" Hotch asked.

"I think so, so now you have to go, and teach this Shoe a lesson of his own. He doesn't mess with Aaron Hamilton, and Aaron will not accept woman domination."

**We'd love to hear from you :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey Guys! Good luck to all of you who are starting school today, or who have to go back to work after the long weekend. You are seriously amazing, you all have such great advice, and we love to hear anything you have to say!**

**Warning:Some brief language at the begining of this chapter**

**We do not own Criminal Minds**

"What the hell was that?" Hotch shouted as he stalked across the street. Shoe was getting out of his car and closed the door behind him.

"What?"

"What? That's all you say? You send me to a fucking whore house and all you can say is what?" Hotch kept his voice raised.

"Aaron," Shoe started walking towards the front door, "can we talk about this inside?"

Hotch took the hint that he didn't want the neighbors to hear, and followed. Once they were inside, Hotch took in his surroundings. The house had a similar layout to the one he and Emily were living in.

"What's on your mind Aaron?" Shoe asked calmly, sitting down.

"You know what you did? You know how embarrassing that was for me? To go to that place where those whores marched around like they owned the whole damn world," Hotch shouted, "I thought you understood me. I thought there was finally a place where I could be me, and what do you do? You deceived me, Calvin. I thought we could've been friends."

"We still can Aaron," Shoe smiled at the fuming man, he had been hoping for this sort of reaction. But he had to test him first, make sure he was the right man. So far he was doing just fine.

"And why would that be? So you can send me around wherever you think it might be humorous just because I don't know the town?"

"I'm sorry I had to do that Aaron, but I don't think that will be necessary again. Let me go get Greta, she can make us lunch." Shoe stood up and went to the door that led to the basement.

Once he was out of sight Hotch stood up and pulled the bugs out of his jacket pocket. He put one in the lamp shade and another in the kitchen. He heard two footsteps coming upstairs, so he hurried back to his seat. The basement door opened and a woman came out with Shoe.

She was around 5'4'' and probably not even 100 pounds soaking wet. Her dirty blonde hair hung weakly at her shoulders, which were hunched over, in a defeated sense.

"Aaron, this is my wife, Greta."

"Greta," He repeated, hoping it was a good introduction.

She kept her head down until Shoe elbowed her in the ribs, "Answer the man."  
She brought her head up, "Hello Aaron, it is a pleasure to meet you. Is there anything I can get for you?" Her cheeks were hollow and her pale blue eyes were lifeless.

Hotch had to push down the rage that stirred in him, and cleared his throat, "A water would do." He watched her turn around and walked into the kitchen.

Shoe shook his head, "Wives these days…"

Hotch laughed forcibly, and bit his tongue, "How long have you been married?"

"About a year."

All Hotch could think about was how a woman could look like that in just a year. When she came back and handed him a cup of water, Hotch could see the bruises that riddled her arms, ones healing, and new ones, too. Her wrists were raw from where the handcuffs must have dug into them, and she walked with a slight limp.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" She asked in monotone.

"That will be all, Greta," Shoe dismissed her.

When she was out of the room Hotch looked back to Shoe, "How did you get her so well… trained?"

"She knows that if she doesn't obey, I can do things worse to her than this."

"Worse?" Hotch made it sound as if he were intrigued, but he really wanted to vomit.

Shoe smiled, "Is that something you'd be interested in Aaron?"

"I think it is."

"Are you sure Aaron, are you sure this isn't just a game to you?"

"I'm sure," Hotch locked his eyes onto Shoes.

"We don't meet for another week, but I may be able to get you in."

Hotch raised his eyebrows, "Where is this?"

"I'll let you know when the time comes. But Aaron, I think for once you might have a group that fits your needs."

XXX

"That son of a bitch!" Hotch shouted as he slammed the front door shut behind him.  
"What is it?" Emily hurried over to him and could see the rage in his eyes.

"His wife, you should see what he did to her. The bruises… the way he talked to her… I just wanted to strangle him right then and there."

"Aaron, we'll get him."

"I don't know how much longer she can stay in that house, Emily. He keeps her in the _basement_. She has bruises _everywhere_. She looked like she was almost dead," Hotch slammed his fists to his side and sat down on the couch. Emily sat next to him.

"That's how I'm going to have to look," Emily whispered.

"I don't _ever _want you to look like that," Hotch spat, "I don't care if it ruins our cover, but I _will not _do that to you."

Emily reached out and took his hand into hers. She rubbed her thumb in circles across the back of his hand. "Did you learn anything? Did dominant Aaron get us a win?" She asked gently.

Hotch nodded, "There's a meeting next week. He said he'd see if he could get us in."

"Next week…" Emily thought out loud, "Aaron, you may not want me to look like her, but I can't go to that club looking like this." She pointed to the bruise on her face, "I need more Aaron, this isn't enough."

Hotch brought their hands up to his face and held them there. Emily could feel his hot breath on her hand and leaned into his side.

"I know this isn't what either of us wanted, and we told ourselves we'd be okay with it, but we're not," Emily said, "but we're doing this to help Greta, and all the other Greta's out there. I'm okay with getting a few bruises to get us there."

Hotch sighed and took one hand out of her grip and rested it around her shoulder, "It's supposed to be just another part of the job."

"Yeah," Emily said, "but who ever called this job easy?"

Hotch let out a small smile and pulled Emily close to his side.

"I know this is hard, but we need to start somewhere. We need to figure out how the hell to work those things we have hidden in our closet. If we're going to be joining an S&M group, we should probably have a little experience," Emily said.

"Why do you always have to be right?"

"Because I'm a woman?" Emily asked as they both stood up and walked upstairs.

XXX

Emily dumped out the bag Garcia had gotten them, and Hotch pulled out the handcuffs he had gotten. Then they both grabbed their books.

"This," Emily held up a strappy leather item, "goes around my waist." She took off her shirt and maneuvered it around, "You need to tie it."

Hotch looked for a moment and then tied ten knots all the way down Emily's bare back. Emily looked down at herself and felt the leather pinch her skin.

"I think these do the same, but on my legs." Emily changed into a pair of shorts and then Hotch tied knots until Emily's entire body was encased in leather straps.

"I can't move," She tried to take a step, but it made the leather pinch into her legs even more.

"I think that's the point," Hotch said as he looked at his book again.

"Here, handcuff my hands in front of me," Emily held both arms out, "I need to get marks on my wrists.

Hotch obeyed and cuffed her with the new ones he had gotten.

"Put them tighter," Emily said.

Hotch did so with much disdain. When they were in place Emily started to pull her wrists apart and twist them around.

"What are you doing?" Hotch asked.

"I'm making marks."

Hotch turned around and after a minute regained his composure, "I think that's enough," he said, un-cuffing her.

"Fine, enough with the cuffs, but we still have to figure out what the rest of this does."

Hotch sighed and pulled out his book again.

Emily laid on the bed, her restraints kept her from doing much else, "Here I watch the studious Aaron Hotchner as he prepares for his exams," She paused for a moment, "Just imagine if Strauss knew what we were doing right now."


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys, once again, thanks for all the reviews! Just to let you know, we have 6 more chapters planned out. **

**I know some of you were wondering when I was going to update Second Time Around, I got so caught up in this story I almost forgot! But no fear, it should be updated this weekend, and then I'll try to keep it more consistent. Sorry about that!**

**We hope you enjoy :)**

**We do not own Criminal Minds**

JJ slipped her pajama top over her head in the room she was sharing with Garcia, "Don't you think Emily and Hotch would make a cute couple?"

"Emily and bossman? Well... we could see what they're up to now." Garcia eyed JJ mischievously and finished tying her pigtails before rushing over to her computers.

JJ looked guilty but still followed Garcia to her set-up. The techie turned on her monitor and opened the feed from Hotch and Emily's house. She flipped through the camera feeds until she saw them in the bedroom.

"Are you sure we should be doing this?" JJ asked uncomfortably, Garcia scoffed.

"What's the worst they could be doing? They're co-workers..."

She clicked the box and both women's eyes widened at what was on the screen. Garcia minimized it immediately and looked at JJ.

"Or they could be doing that."

JJ put her face in her hands but peeked through her fingers when the doorknob turned. She shot up to stop the door from opening just as a slapping noise filled the room followed by a yelp.

JJ shot Garcia a frantic look as she slammed her whole body into the door, "We're changing!"

Another slap and yelp came before Garcia could mute it.

"Are you sure that's all you're doing?" JJ could hear Morgan smiling through the door.

"In your dreams." JJ said, breathing heavily she and Garcia exchanged glances.

"Can I come in now?" Morgan asked, he barely finished his sentence before JJ and Garcia shouted no.

XXX

Hotch lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Emily had been in the bathroom for a while now and he was beginning to worry that they had gone too far.

"Emily? Are you okay in there?" He called out, Emily responded right away.

"Yeah, I'm just putting my hair up." The door clicked open and Emily walked out, "See? Just fine."

Hotch ran his eyes up and down her body, she wore a simple white nightgown that fell to her knees. The straps were thick and the neckline high, but it still left her shoulders exposed. Through the nightgown he could see her black lingerie.

But it mostly showed him the evidence of what they had done earlier that day. Emily's wrists were red from the chafing handcuffs and purpling from being tied. She had finger marks around her upper arm in several places, where he had grabbed her a little too tightly and miscellaneous bruises from when he'd pushed her a little too hard.

He could barely look at the hickeys and bite marks that Emily had encouraged him to give her and as he looked away from them all he could notice were the bruises the bondage had left on her legs.

Hotch couldn't help but think that they should have taken it a little slower.

But then again, they only had a week to get Emily a little roughed up.

Emily lied down next to him and Hotch put his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

He grabbed her hand and pulled it to him, softly placing his lips on her bruised wrist. Emily looked at him quizzically as he moved up her arm, kissing each blemish, each wound until he reached her shoulder. He kissed it and propped himself up on his arm so his face was inches above Emily's.

"None of those," Hotch began, "None of them mean a thing besides we're going to catch these bastards."

Emily's eyes stayed on Hotch's as she nodded, "Of course, I know." She whispered, still nodding. Her heart beat erratically in her chest as Hotch's face moved closer to hers.

Emily's eyes fell shut as Aaron's lips barely brushed hers. She wrapped a hand around the back of his neck and splayed her fingers through his hair as she pulled his lips to hers once again. Hotch rolled over, so he was holding himself above Emily and leaned down to kiss her again, this time swiping his tongue against her lower lip and Emily opened her mouth right away, allowing him to explore her mouth.

Hotch wrapped an arm around Emily and pulled her closer to him as her hands continued to wrap around his neck and her fingers laced through his hair. Hotch cupped Emily's good cheek with his hand and only pulled away to breathe, always pulling her soft lips back to his for another, longer kiss.

Soon his hands moved from her cheek to her waist and began to explore Emily's soft curves. Emily whispered his name as he began fingering the hem of her nightgown and Emily's hands moved to grip the hem of his shirt.

Neither of them heard the front door open, or the footsteps coming up the steps until an unfortunately familiar voice called up the stairs, "Aaron?"

Hotch and Emily separated and looked at each other with wide eyes. Hotch quickly reached into the side table drawer and grabbed the two pairs of handcuffs out. He turned back to Emily who had discarded her nightgown on the floor. He hastily cuffed her to the bed and grabbed a tie from the floor.

He frantically got on top of Emily and roughly tied the tie around her head and shoved the knot and the ends into her mouth, causing her to choke.

He heard footsteps by the door so he leaned by Emily's ear and began to speak, "Got it? So I don't wanna hear one _sound _out of you." Hotch growled as the door began to creak open.

"Aaron, I hate to interrupt but I have some good news." Calvin peeked his head in the door and smiled when he saw the couple in their compromising position.

Hotch got off of Emily and tightened the cuffs causing Emily to squirm, "Alright," He said, walking towards the door, "Let's hear it. Why don't you come in the room, a little embarrassment might do her some good."

Hotch refrained from cringing at his own words. He looked over to see Emily blush and shift uncomfortably.

Shoe chuckled, "I saw you were home, and I didn't want to wait to tell you I got you into the club next week. Next Friday at nine p.m. I'll text you the address."

Hotch smiled, "Thanks, I'd have Emily show you out, but she's a little busy, so I'll do it."

"Wouldn't want to keep you from your...activities." Shoe grinned as they left the room. Emily relaxed into the bed and tried to spit the tie out of her mouth.

When Hotch came back into the room he immediately freed Emily from the cuffs and helped her remove the tie from her mouth.

"That was close," She whispered, taking her nightgown from Hotch. She slipped it over her head and rubbed her raw wrists after pulling it the rest of the way on.

They made eye-contact and Hotch smiled, "We're in."

**Isn't Shoe just terrible? **


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello there faithful readers :) I hope you are all enjoying your weekend. We'd love to hear what you think!**

**We do not own Criminal Minds**

Emily searched the room and found one of Hotch's ties on the floor in the closet. She picked it up and closed the bedroom door silently. Sitting down cross-legged on the bed, she looked at the tie in her hand. It was blue with red diagonal stripes, one of her favorites. She sat and listened for a moment, and heard Hotch walking around downstairs, so she would have a few minutes. She slipped the tie around her neck and took a deep breath.

She brought the knot around to the back of her neck, and holding her breath, pulled it as hard as she could. The cloth cut against her sensitive skin, and she wanted to stop, but she didn't. She continued to pull.

XXX

Hotch finished making sandwiches for lunch, and called upstairs for Emily. She didn't answer, so he walked up the stairs, and saw that their door was closed. He knocked on it, and once again, there was no response.

"Em?" He asked as he slowly opened the door.

When he looked inside the room he saw Emily on the bed, with one of his ties around her neck, and she was pulling it. She was strangling herself.

"Emily!" He ran over to her side and pulled her weak grip from the tie, and gently lifted it over her head.

She coughed and looked up at him.

Hotch's eyes widened, "God, Emily, what were you doing? Are you okay?"

"Water?" Emily asked, coughing again.

"Of course, of course," Hotch got off the bed and ran into the bathroom. He filled a cup and went back into the room. She was leaning heavily against the headboard. She sat up when Hotch handed her the water.

Hotch sat down on the bed behind Emily, and she leaned against his body, "Why did you do that?" Hotch asked desperately.

Emily took a small sip of water and put the cup down. She put her head on his chest and he ran his fingers through her hair, "I didn't want to make you do it," He voice was raspy.

"What are you talking about Emily?"

"I need marks," Hotch brought his fingers gingerly to her neck, "And you shouldn't have to give them to me."

Hotch tipped his head back and blinked back the tears that had made it to his eyes, "I hate this Emily, I really hate this."

Emily nodded as another cough came to her, when the fit was over she spoke, "Less than a week now Aaron, we're almost there."

"I just want to see those bastards behind bars. I just don't see how anyone could enjoy doing this," Hotch growled.

"They had fun dominating in S&M, and didn't want to stop. So they found women they could manipulate and overpower. I just don't understand how the women can defend these monsters."

"Typical case of stockholm's," Hotch said.

"These guys manipulate these women, and treat them like animals. And then they _trade _them, just because they can."

"I joined the BAU to understand human behavior, but there's some people you just can't understand."

"And others you don't want to," Emily whispered.

Hotch continued to play with Emily's silky dark hair. Hotch felt her breathing even, and she put her full weight against his body. He thought about all they had gone through in the past few days. Having to act like this. Hotch thought about all the times he had to hurt Emily. He thought about Morgan's words to him. The reason he had snapped at him, was because Hotch was thinking the same exact thing. He was wondering how in hell he could do this.

And then Hotch wondered what kind of relationship he would have with Emily when they were no longer undercover.

XXX

When Emily's eyes opened, Hotch smiled at her. She had been out for an hour and a half, and the entire time he had stayed with her.

"Hey," She smiled back, she leaned away from him and moved around so now she was laying next to him.

"Rossi called while you were sleeping," Hotch said, "The team wants to meet tonight."

"Where?" Emily asked, wondering if it would be safe.

"Morgan's place. We'll make sure we aren't followed, and even if someone sees us, it won't trace back to the FBI in any way."

"When?"

Hotch looked at his watch, "An hour."

XXX

Hotch pulled into Morgan's childhood home positive they hadn't been followed. They had left when Shoe wasn't home. It was 5 o'clock when Emily and Hotch stepped out of the car. Hotch was wearing a pair of khakis with a polo shirt. Emily was wearing black pant with a green tank top, but she wore a cardigan over it. She also had a blue scarf around her neck. This was a precaution just in case they ran into someone on their way.

When they stepped into the house they could hear talking coming from the kitchen. The rest of the team was in there, along with Morgan's family. They were passing time while they waited for Hotch and Emily.

They stood in the doorway, until Garcia saw them and ran over, "Emily!" She pulled her into a hug and Emily tried her hardest not to flinch.

"Hey Pen, I've missed. I've missed you all," Emily directed to the group.

"So have I," Hotch eyed each member of his team carefully.

"Hey, Pen, I can't breath here," Emily joked, but Garcia's clutch was starting to cause her pain.

Garcia let go of her and went back to her seat.

"What is it, like a sauna in here?" Emily asked as she unwrapped her scarf and took off the cardigan that clung to her sweaty arms. She put them over the back of the chair, and it took her a moment to see everyone staring at her.

"Hotch?" Morgan asked.

Emily looked down at her bruised arms, and could only imagine what her neck looked like, "Sorry," She mumbled before putting the clothes back on. She looked around and saw that Derek's aunt had tears in her eyes.

"Hotch?" Morgan asked again, this time standing up, "Do you want to tell me what the hell this is?"

"Why don't you take Anthony outside?" JJ asked Derek's aunt, who swept up the little boy and took him out of the room.

Morgan took a step towards Hotch, his eyes dark and his hands tucked into fists, "I don't care that this is for a case, why in hell do you think this is okay? Do you see her? Do you see what you did to her?"

"Derek-" Emily started, but Hotch cut her off.

"Morgan, I don't have to justify my actions to you, and you do _not_ speak to me that way. I am your boss, and you will treat me as such." Hotch said, his eyes not leaving the younger agent.

"You're no boss to me."

"Derek," Emily repeated, putting her hand on his arm. Morgan looked to her and she saw pain in his eyes, "come on Derek, let me talk to you. Come on." Emily led him out of the room and to the front porch.

She sat down and he followed her lead, "Emily..."

"No Morgan, let me talk." She unwrapped the scarf from her neck and gripped it in her hands, "This group, The Company, they beat women. They treat them as slaves, they trade them, and they kill them."

"I already know this," Morgan said.

"Just hear me out. I talked to Cindi, I won't give you specifics, but there are certain punishments. Punishments that leave bruises and marks, Derek. In less than a week Hotch and I are going to be going to a meeting for The Company. If I don't look like this, have these bruises, then they're going to make us. We'll either lose all the women, and fail to catch the men, or we'll be killed. Maybe even both." Emily spoke.

Derek ran his hand over his head and neck, but just listened.

"You see my neck? Hotch didn't do it."

"Then who?" Morgan's eyebrows were furrowed.

"I did it, Derek. It was necessary for me to have choke marks, but I couldn't ask Hotch to give them to me. Derek, everytime Hotch has to hurt me, it kills him. It is so hard for him to be doing this. I had to make him punch me so we didn't get our cover blown. But everytime you do this to him, you're making it so much harder."

"I just hate to see you hurt." he turned his gaze to the ground, "I couldn't help Cindi, and now it's like it's happening all over again, but this time I can't help you."

"None of what happened to either of us is your fault, but please, don't take it out on Hotch, it's not his fault. We're going to catch these guys, and this will all be over. Just a memory." Emily reassured him, "If it helps, I won't take my scarf and cardigan off."

Morgan sighed, "I'm still not so sure I can forgive Hotch."

Emily gave Morgan a tired look, "That's your choice, but try to remember that he's not an UNSUB, okay?"

xxxx

Emily and Hotch entered the house later that night, silence engulfing the two of them once the door was shut and the thunder of the storm was shut out. Hotch closed and locked the door behind himself and helped Emily out of her coat before taking off his own.

He hung them up and took his wet shoes off. He followed Emily into the kitchen and found her putting water into two mugs.

"What are you doing?" He inquired, coming up behind her as she put the cups in the microwave and shut the door. Hotch reached over her shoulder and pressed the two and the quiet roar of the microwave began to heat the water.

"Making hot chocolate," Emily said, "It calms my nerves."

Hotch nodded, "I'll grab whipped cream." He smiled gently. Emily reached into the cabinet and grabbed the container of Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate mix. Hotch grabbed two spoons and walked over to where Emily was placing the cups of steaming water on the counter.

He handed a spoon to her and they began to scoop the brown powder into their cups.

Hotch smiled and grabbed the whipped cream. He sprayed some into his cup and pointed it to Emily's cup, "Want some?" He raised an eyebrow at her, a smile twitching at his lips.

"Yeah," Emily said, brushing her hair behind her shoulder. Hotch took the whipped cream and squirted it into her cup. They sat at the table and sipped silently at the warm liquid.

Hotch periodically looked up at Emily, watching her with a profiler's eye. Hotch knew that they had more than a working relationship. It was obvious to him, but he wasn't so sure about her. Before they went undercover he had been beginning to really enjoy their outings together and he knew Jack was too.

They were both very different outside the workplace, Hotch liked it when he didn't have to be so serious, when he could laugh within the safe walls of his home without worrying about the next case.

Emily raised her eyes for them to make contact with Aaron's. She smiled softly and set her empty mug on the table. They kept their eyes on each other for a couple more seconds before Hotch cleared his throat almost silently.

"You have whipped cream-" He stated, reaching over to wipe the spot off Emily's mouth. Emily began to blush uncharacteristically and she turned her head down.

"Aaron, you shouldn't do this." Emily said, eyes closed. She tried pushing her feelings down as far as possible.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, reaching for her hand. He grabbed it but Emily didn't squeeze back.

"You shouldn't be so damn good at pretending to like me." Emily started pulling her hand away, "I don't want to have my heart broken after this because we go back to our working relationship."

Hotch gripped Emily's hand tighter, "Emily I'm not pretending." She looked back up at him, dark eyes meeting even darker ones, "I don't want this to go away when we get back to D.C."

Emily let herself smile and wrap a hand around the back of Aaron's neck, pulling him closer. She could feel his breath on her lips and it sent a tingling sensation down her spine.

As their lips met, Emily moved into his lap, the fireworks of a new relationship sparking between them.


	10. Chapter 10

**Here's a super fast update for all you awesome readers! Why not leave a review? :)**

**We do not own Criminal Minds**

Emily sat in the cold basement, and pulled her cardigan tightly around herself. The room was dimly lit, and scarcely furnished. A ragged couch sat in the corner along with a radio that had to be at least fifty years old and only got three stations.

She tucked her knees to her chest and winced at the sore muscles. She had never felt more alone than she did in this desolate place. The walls were brown, and the sole window did nothing to bring in daylight; it was dirtied by years of neglect. Aaron's footsteps pounded against the ceiling of the small room as he moved around upstairs.

Emily pulled out the book she had tucked under the couch's thin cushions. _Slaughterhouse Five_- a favorite. She flipped through the weathered pages, but couldn't get herself to concentrate on the words. She looked up to see the minute finger tick away slowly and wondered how much longer she was stuck in this hell hole.

Through the thin walls she could hear the washing machine running in a room nearby, and she heard Aaron click the TV on. But finally, she got what she was waiting for- the doorbell rang. Emily sat up and heard Aaron's steps across the floor, and the sound of the front door opening. She heard Shoe's repulsive voice, but the rest were just mumbles.

Emily knew her job from here on out. The wife. The servant. The _slave_. The obedient woman.

Then she heard the sound that made her heartbeat quicken. Footsteps down the stairs.

Aaron walked over to her and whispered, "Shoe's here, ignore what I have to say to you, Emily, I don't mean it."

"I know, Aaron, we've gone over this. Just figure out what you can about the group." Emily smiled and let her lips hover towards his.

Aaron wrapped his arms around her waist and brought his lips against her. "It'll be over soon," He whispered as he released her.

Emily nodded, and then followed Hotch up the stairs.

Shoe had already made himself comfortable in the living room when Emily and Aaron walked in.

"Calvin, you know my wife Emily," He introduced.

Calvin nodded, but said nothing.

"Hello Mr. Shoe," Emily smiled obediently, "Is there anything I can do for you? Would you like a drink?"

"A scotch on the rocks."

"Make that two," Hotch added.

Emily left and the two men started talking. "What can you tell me about the group on friday?" Hotch asked casually.

"The men in the group rely on confidentiality. You will just have to trust me that it's what you want," Shoe smiled.

"You're not trying to screw me over again, are you?" Hotch narrowed his eyes at the other man.

"I wouldn't do that to a friend."

Just then Emily walked back in with two glasses in her hands. She handed one to each man, but Hotch took a look at his and scowled, "I thought we specifically asked for it _on the rocks._ Where is the ice?" He demanded.

"Get your own damn ice," Emily spat out before she even realized what she had said.

All Hotch could do was stare at her. He couldn't believe what she had just said. He couldn't even imagine the repercussions from her words.

"You let her talk to you like that?" Shoe asked disapprovingly.

"No," Hotch growled just seconds before he backhanded Emily across her left cheek. She stumbled backwards and reached out to the kitchen counter.

Hotch chanced a look towards Shoe, and saw that he clearly expected more. He took a deep breath and stepped towards Emily. He grabbed her by the neck and pulled her up against the wall.

"You do not speak to me that way," He spat into her ear, loud enough for Shoe to hear. Her body was tense beneath his, and he could see the fear in her eyes.

"You respect and obey me, and when there is another man in the house, you respect and obey him."

When he let go of her neck, Emily's knees gave out and she sunk to the floor. She looked up to Hotch, but she couldn't see him. All she saw was what he had done. All she felt was where he had hurt her.

"Now go get the box."

"What?" Emily choked out.

"When you disobey, you get the box. I want you sitting in the dining room in twenty seconds." The words that came out of Hotch's mouth tasted like poison.

Emily made herself stand up against the pain, and walked to the hall closet. Tears came to her eyes, but she held them down and she searched in the headbox she had put inside just a few days ago. She brought it to the dining room and slipped it over her head.

With the darkness surrounding her, and the sounds of the men muffled, she finally let the tears fall. She had been wrong before.

Now she was truly alone.

XXX

Hotch could get nothing out of Shoe. He wouldn't even tell Hotch the location of the club until Friday. This eliminated the possibility of the team checking it out before they had to go in.

Hotch could barely stay concentrated through the rest of his conversation with Shoe. All he could think of was Emily, and the fear in her eyes. The way she trembled when he grabbed her.

When Shoe finally left, Hotch ran into the dining room, "Emily," he whispered.

She didn't move, so he took the box off.

"Emily, I'm sorry," He said, and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Hotch, don't," She shrugged away from his touch, and stood up. For the first time Hotch got a good look at her face; Streaks of tears ran down, and her cheek was raised and red.

"Emily-" He started again, but tears came to her eyes and she shook her head. Before he could stop her, Emily was running up the stairs.

She ran into the bathroom and locked the door behind herself. She looked in the mirror and felt her stomach turn.

XXX

Hotch came to the door just in time to hear Emily vomiting, he tried the handle and felt it was locked.

"Emily, please, let me in." But that was only met by silence, "Please Emily, just let me help you."

"Hotch, leave," Emily coughed from the other side of the door, and Hotch winced at her repeated use of his last name. He used to be Aaron to her.

XXX

Emily leaned against the bathroom counter and looked at herself, but she didn't like what she saw. She rinsed out her mouth and splashed water on her face. She could hear Hotch outside, he was saying something, but she wasn't sure what. She needed to be alone.

Emily was tired. She leaned back against the door and slid to the ground. She knew she told Hotch repeatedly that she was okay with this, but she wasn't. And that last blow was the one that broke the camel's back. She saw Doyle. She saw her other undercover identities. She felt the pain from his grip, and she wasn't okay.

Emily heard Hotch sit down against the other side of the bathroom door.

"Talk to me Em, just let me know you're okay," Hotch begged towards the wooden door.

Emily let silence hang before answering, "I'm here."

Hotch clenched his eyes shut, "I'm so sorry, Emily."

But this time Emily didn't reassure him. She didn't tell him it was okay.

"Hotch..." Emily let the word hang.

Aaron put his hand against the wooden door, "I don't want to be Hotch to you Emily, I want to be more than that."

"I don't know if I can do this," Emily whispered, "I don't know if I can separate Aaron and Hamilton anymore."

"It's just me here, it's just Aaron. I would _never _hurt you. We'll be back to D.C. in just a few days. And I want you there with me Emily. I want to hold your hand, and I want the chance to show you how much I care about you."

"It's not going to be that easy," Emily whispered, her eyes starting to close.

"I know, I know it won't be perfect, but I'll have you and I'll have Jack. That's all I need."

"But what if we can't forget?" Emily asked, distress in her voice, "What if we can't forget what we had to do?

"We don't have to forget, but it also doesn't have to define our relationship," Hotch slipped his fingers underneath the door, "but Emily, I love you, and this doesn't change anything."

"You don't want me, not like that."

"Yes I do Emily, I want you for all you are."

"I'm not the kind of person Jack needs."

Hotch winced at how little Emily thought of herself, "He loves spending time with you, and for now, that's all that matters. We'll take this slow Em, just one day at a time. But for now I need you to know that I love everything about you. But even though I hate hurting you, we can't stop now, not when we've come so close."

"I know," Emily whispered, "we have to help Greta."

"And all the other Greta's in this world." Hotch tipped back his head.

He smiled when he felt Emily's fingers rest on his.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello! You guys are seriously so great! We appreciate each and every review we get! It means so much to us that you take time to do so :) We hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**We do not own Criminal Minds **

Hotch opened his eyes and smiled. Throughout the night Emily had moved, and now her head was resting on his chest. He ran his fingers through her soft hair, and felt her smooth skin. Days had gone by since The Incident. Something he would always refer to as that, because he couldn't face what he had done.

For a while after that Emily wouldn't let him touch her, at least not affectionately. Not even put a hand on her shoulder. She would shrug away and mumble an excuse. But instead, she would urge him to slap her or pinch her, but Hotch refused. He told her she had enough wounds.

And it was true. Over the past week Emily's body had become a haven for bruises and cuts. Some healing, others new. Her skin was a terrible canvas of abuse.

So Hotch took it slow. He never did anything unexpected around her. Any contact was initiated by her, and eventually she came back. Not all at once, and not completely, but it was a start. She became more steady around him, and even seemed back to normal; making jokes and laughing at Aaron. It seemed like finally the old Emily was back. The one who could make Aaron blush and laugh at the same time.

But none of that helped Hotch. There was an angry gnawing at the pit of his stomach, reminding him every second of every day how he hurt the woman he loved.

He wouldn't lose another woman to his job.

Hotch looked down at Emily, and could feel her warm breath on his hand. After Haley's death, Hotch never thought he would meet another woman who made him feel the way she once did.

Throughout the years, he had dated some. But he never met anyone he could imagine bringing home, not for Jack. But now he had the right woman in his arms. But what he had feared, had happened. He was afraid this undercover case would tear them apart instead of bring them together. Every time he had to lay a hand on her, it killed him inside, and now he was starting to see it was affecting her more than she let on.

Hotch always thought he could read her tells, but she had become better at hiding. Or maybe he just wanted to think she was okay, so he wouldn't have to feel so bad.

This was something they were going to have to deal with after the case was over. Whether or not they formed a relationship, he had to make sure Emily felt safe around him. He had to show her that he wasn't his undercover identity.

Then he started thinking about Jack. He hadn't seen him in over a week. When they met with the team he was able to call Haley's sister. He was good, but he missed his dad. Hotch didn't blame him though, this was the longest he had gone without speaking to his son on the phone in the past few years, but he wasn't going to risk it. He didn't want any ties between Aaron Hamilton and Jack Hotchner.

"Hey."

Hotch looked down, and saw Emily had woken up and was looking at him.

"Hey," He responded, "How are you feeling."

"I'm okay," Emily reached her hand up and rested it on his cheek.

Hotch looked into her eyes and rested his hand on hers. "Are you ready?"

She nodded, but he saw something in her eyes. Something behind the wall of confidence. "It's going to be okay," He promised, "We have the team."

"And I have you?" It came out more of a question than a statement.

"You always have me," Hotch moved down closer to her, "Always." He brought his hand to her chin and lifted her face to his. Hotch let his lips rest gently against the soft skin near her ear. He kissed down her jawline and moved to her lips.

Emily didn't pull away, but instead brought her arms around his waist and pulled him closer. She wanted to feel his touch, she only wanted to think about him, not what was happening next, or what had happened before. She just wanted to feel Aaron's skin.

He brought his hands to her sides, but couldn't bring himself to go any further. Not while they were still undercover. When they were finally together he wanted it to be them. Not who they had to be.

Hotch brought his lips to Emily's one last time before stopping. But he didn't let go of her. He held Emily in his arms and thought through the rest of the day. They were almost done.

XXX

Hotch looked in the mirror at himself. He was wearing dark jeans and a dark brown jacket over his white t-shirt, all in preparation for tonight. He locked his glock into the ankle holster he was wearing. He knew there was a listening device under his t-shirt, and another one in a hidden pocket in his jacket.

He gave himself one final check to make sure he wasn't missing anything and then called for Emily, "Are you ready?" The bathroom door was still closed.

"Uhhhh..."

Without thinking he grabbed the handle and opened the door. He froze when he saw her standing in the middle of the bathroom with only her bra and underwear... and her thigh holster.

"Oh, ah," He faltered, and reached back for the handle.

"It's fine," Emily said, "it's not like you haven't seen me in _more _compromising positions."

Hotch blushed and averted his eyes.

"Aaron, I'm kind of having a problem here," Emily said, laughing at his demeanor.

"Is this something I _want_to hear about?" He hesitated, and then glanced at her.

Emily rolled her eyes, "I don't know what to wear."

Hotch looked Emily up and down, "What you have on now is fine." Both of them tried to joke around and keep the serious situation light.

Emily glared at him, grabbed a high heel off the floor and threw it at him.

"Ooof," Hotch grunted as the shoe collided with his chest, "I was kidding..."

Emily sighed in exasperation, "We only have an hour until we have to leave. Do you even have the address yet?"

"No." Hotch said slowly, "But I'll get it in time."

"I'm sure you will, now help me figure out what to wear to this thing." Emily grabbed her shoe and pushed past Hotch to grab the other. She threw them onto the bed and started to rummage through the closet.

"Emily, I don't understand why this decision is so hard, I thought women always knew what to wear..."

Emily tossed a couple of garments over her shoulder and sighed, "Yes but most of the time I'm not dressing up for an S&M meeting."

"Most of the time?"

"If you think you know everything about me after this mission, Aaron, I must say you are sadly mistaken."

Hotch gave her a look, but then turned his attention to the closet, "Let's see..." He looked through all her clothes. "Since we're not sure, maybe you could layer?"

"Layer what? All I've got is a crap load of pants and long sleeved shirts."

"What about this?" Hotch picked up a fitted leather corset.

"Oh God..." Emily groaned, "I have to wear that?"

"That is what you bought it for isn't it?"

"Not in _public_!" Emily exclaimed, but took it from him.

"So in... private?"

"Maybe you'll get to find out one of these days," Emily laughed.

Hotch paused, and then continued looking through the rest of her clothes like he didn't hear her, "I think you should wear a skirt, since we only have one ankle holster, and I'm not wearing that one on my thigh."

"Fine," Emily said grudgily and pulled out a black skirt.

"That's kind of short..." Aaron noticed as she held it up to her waist.

"Well it's the only one I have, so we're going to have to make it work."

"I don't know if they'd approve of you showing those bruises in public," He indicated the marks that were still visible on her legs.

Emily moved to the dresser and rummaged through the top drawer until she found a pair of black tights, "Here, I'll put the holster over these."

With a sigh, Emily piled up the clothes in her arms and headed towards the bathroom.

XXX

_1679 Upperwood Ave _

Hotch looked at the address Shoe had texted him.

"Hey, Aaron!" Emily called from downstairs, "I've got the team on speakerphone, care to join me?"

"Yeah, I'll be down in a second." Hotch put his phone back in his pocket and ran down the stairs. Emily smiled at him when he sat down next to her on the couch.

"Garcia, are you at a computer?" Hotch asked as he opened the message again.

"Is that even a question, bossman?"

Hotch shook his head and smiled, "I've got an address, Shoe just sent it to me." He gave it to Garcia and she looked it up.

"Okay, I found it, it's an abandoned warehouse across town."

"What else is around there?" Emily asked.

"Mostly just clubs and a few strip malls, there will be some people around," Garcia answered.

"What's across the street?" They could hear Rossi ask Garcia.

"A bar."

"Okay," Rossi said, "that's where we'll be. We can get inside the warehouse in five minutes when you call for us. We won't have eyes inside, so we'll have to rely on the bugs in your clothes."

"We should have a code," Reid added, "So you can tell us to come without alerting any of the members."

"How about, 'Emily did you remember to call my brother back?'" Hotch asked.

"That could work," Reid said, "You can say it at anytime, while still exerting your dominance."

"Are you going to be carrying guns?" JJ asked.

"I've got an ankle holster, and Emily's got a thigh holster. We assume that all the men will have weapons, as they are threatening the women with death." Hotch said.

Hotch looked at his watch and saw it was already nine, "We've got to go now if we want to make it by 9:30. Shoe is going to meet us at the entrance."

"We're heading out right now too," Rossi said, and they could hear chairs scraping.

When Emily thought they were all gone, and was about to hang up, Morgan spoke, "Be safe," He paused, "Both of you."

XXX

Emily and Hotch sat in their parked car outside of a large warehouse. Emily shivered despite the fact that the heat was on, and Hotch rested his hand on her knee.

"This is it," He whispered, "Then we're done."

Emily forced a smile.

They saw a figure approaching from the shadows, and Hotch drew his hand back, "One last time," He whispered and grabbed the seat belt. He held it to her neck, and pressed down, "I love you," He whispered into her ear, and then there was a knock at his window.

Hotch rolled down his window, "Is it time?" He asked Shoe politely.

"Are you finished?" Shoe nodded to Emily.

"Yeah, she just needed a quick reminder. Nothing serious."

"Okay, well lets go then. Everyone else is expecting you," Shoe opened the door and Hotch stepped out.

Hotch extended his arm, "It's nice to finally meet someone like you."

"Likewise."

They walked next to each other into the building and Emily followed a few feet behind. Shoe led them down a maze of halls and rooms, until they were in the middle of the building.

He opened the door, but it was dark in the room. Hotch could count eleven figures, and then Shoe joined his wife.

"Hello everyone, I'd like you to meet Aaron Hamilton."

"Hello," Aaron addressed the group.

"He's good?" A gruff voice asked from the shadows.

"He's good," Shoe confirmed, "and he's eager to join." He backed up so he could see the entire group, "Most of you are familiar with the rules, but I may need to acquaint them with our new one here. Emily, get over here." He ordered.

Emily walked over, keeping her head down.

"Men are in charge, and they can do as they please," Suddenly Emily felt a sharp pain in her shoulder and her knees buckled. She stumbled to the ground and looked up. Shoe held a glock in his hand, one that he had just hit her with.

He smiled at her, his yellow teeth glowing in the low light, "You will do as you're told. If you are traded, and I suspect you will be, you must go with the man you are directed to. You disobey, and you will be shot." He played with his gun in the air before finally shoving it in his pants.

**Finally! They're in the club! What're your guys's thoughts?**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey everyone! Sorry that it took us a while to update, but life got in the way. Nonetheless here is the next chapter :)**

**We do not own Criminal Minds **

Emily continued to breathe heavily for a few moments before getting up off of the ground where she was kneeling. The gun on her thigh reminded her to stay calm, and that she had some control in the situation. She moved slowly back towards Hotch, and stood behind him as the other women were.

"So," Shoe got everyone's attention, "Who wants to trade?"

Three men stepped forwards. "This bitch is getting lazy," One said as he pushed her towards the middle.

"Yeah, this whore can't satisfy me anymore," Another threw the woman towards the other, and they stumbled into each other.

Another woman was thrust towards the middle, and Hotch couldn't understand how the trading worked if there were only three women. And which of these guys would want a 'lazy bitch'?

"Aaron?" Shoe looked towards him, "Would you like to trade?"

Hotch swallowed, "I think I'd just like to watch this time around. Get a feel for it, don't worry though, next week, I'm game."

"Okay," Shoe smiled, "Now, to the cages."

"Cages?" He asked, but it was interrupted by the screams of a woman.

"No, no! Please, don't make me go!" She screamed, "I promise, I'll do better, I promise!"

Suddenly Hotch understood, the trading wasn't just with these women. Shoe had cages down there, with more of them.

Shoe walked calmly towards the woman and pulled his gun, he leveled it to her head, but before Hotch could do anything, Emily screamed out, "No! Stop it!"

Shoe paused and looked over towards Emily, she had stepped away from Hotch and was standing alone. He smiled at her, "Would you like this?" Shoe walked towards her.

"Stop," Hotch said, his voice stronger than he felt.

Shoe looked at him, "What is it?"

"If you're going to shoot her, at least let me pick out another woman first," He tried not to wince at the words.

Shoe smiled, "I think that can be arranged. Carleton, show Mr. Hamilton to the cages. I'll take care of this one."

"Don't shoot her until I find another," Hotch tried to word it correctly.

"Don't worry, she doesn't have to die to suffer."

XXX

Carleton led Hotch down the dark staircase to the basement. Hotch tried to keep himself focused on the job at hand but he couldn't keep his mind off of Emily and if she was okay. He hoped that she was able to hold her own against Shoe.

Carleton halted at a heavy metal door and smiled a disgusting smile, "If you wanna test one out, you can."

The man shoved the door open and Hotch had to force the bile back down his throat. Along the three sides of the room without the door were a ton of cages, each with a padlock on the door.

Hotch forced himself to look at the women that lay in the cages. Most lay in a corner, curled into themselves, trying to shield their naked body from the crude men coming to 'choose' them.

There were two bowls in each small cage, one with something resembling dog food and the other with cloudy water. The room was cold and Hotch could see some of the poor women shaking. He didn't know if it was out of fear or the cold room.

Hotch walked to the end of the room, deciding that he needed to take action now. He stood in front of one of the women and pretended to look at her. He was really watching the shadow coming up behind him, and figuring out how to get him in one punch.

"She's a beauty, ain't she. Bet she'd be fun. You wanna try her out?"

Hotch felt a wave of anger wash over him as the woman opened her tightly closed eyes to look at him and let out a loud sob. Hotch turned around and punched the man as hard as he could. He stumbled backwards and Hotch took his gun from the ankle holster.

"Don't move." He threatened, moving closer to the sad excuse of a man.

"What the hell, man." The guy started to get up and Hotch kicked him in the side of the head. The man's limp body lay on the concrete floor and Hotch kicked him again for good measure.

He turned towards the women, "We are going to get you out of here safely," Hotch ran a hand through his hair and began to call for the team.

XXX

Shoe grabbed Emily by the hair and dragged her down the hallway. She couldn't help but think of Cyrus as this happened. He threw her into the middle of a room. The walls were concrete, and empty shelves surrounded the perimeter.

"You just haven't learned your manners, have you?" Shoe hissed at her.

"What's to learn?" She bit back, sick of this submissive act she had been playing.

"Aaron's such a good man. If he can't break you, nobody can. But I'll give it a try," He grabbed her shoulders and shoved her into the shelves. She hit them and then fell backwards. Shoe got her on her back, and straddled her. He threw two punches to either side of her face, and she spit at him.

This just made Shoe all the more angry, but she couldn't help herself. He grabbed her by the neck and pressed down on her windpipe in a way Hotch never did. She couldn't even cough, she wasn't getting enough air, so she tried to squirm away from his grip.

Shoe didn't want to kill her yet, so he released the pressure, "You're going to learn to obey me," He spat at her, and went for the buttons on her shirt.

Emily continued to squirm, but she couldn't stop him as he unbuttoned her top one by one and slowly revealed the black corset underneath.

"Well isn't this nice," He grinned. He moved towards her skirt, and Emily gave it all she had. She got out from underneath him, and jumped up. Shoe slowly stood and they circled like boxers, waiting for the other to make their move.

Shoe made the first move and ran at Emily, hitting her with his right shoulder, pushing her into the hard wall. She grunted at the contact and the next thing she knew, a fist connected with the side of her head, and the world spun. She spat blood, and tried to steady herself, but there was nothing, so instead she went tumbling to the floor.

Shoe kicked her in the stomach and she rolled over, barely able to feel the pain anymore. Emily tried to move, or stand up, or anything, but she couldn't. Her hands were shaking despite her attempt to stop them.

Shoe brought his boot to her chest and then he squatted next to her. He pulled off her shoes and then moved to her skirt.

XXX

"Oh my God!" JJ cried, and brought her hands to her mouth.

"We have to go in," Morgan started moving towards the door, not even waiting for an okay.

"Wait a minute," Rossi said, "we have to get an okay from Hotch."

Before Morgan could answer, a gunshot fired, and he sprinted out of the bar.

XXX

Hotch looked at the man on the floor, and then to the women surrounding him in cages.

"Get in here!" He addressed his team, praying they heard him, "They've got them in cages down here. Shoe has Emily, I don't know where he took her," Hotch could feel his voice getting panicky, and he tried to calm himself down. He thought, what did the team need to know? "I have one unconscious man here, there are at least five more men and six women. When you enter the building go straight, take the fourth right into another hallway," Hotch recounted the directions the best he could remember.

"I'm not leaving these women until they get help," Hotch kept his gun out and pointed towards the door, and kept an eye on Carleton. There was nothing he could do to help the women now, so he would have to wait until the rest of the team arrived.

"Get ambulances," He quickly added, "A lot."

**So... what do you think?**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys! Thank you so much for all the reviews you've taken the time to give us, it means so much :) One more chapter after this! We're sad to see it ending, but it's been such a great story to write and share with everyone. We hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as we have enjoyed writing it :)**

**We do not own Criminal Minds**

Emily breathed heavily and squirmed out from underneath Shoe. She looked at the small gun that was shaking in her hand, and his that had fallen to the floor.

He had found her gun when he undressed her, and then he drew his own weapon, but Emily got him first.

She tried to stand, but her legs were shaking too hard. Breathing was nearly impossible, and everywhere hurt. She wanted Aaron to come find her, she wanted to be safe with him.

But instead she sat nearly naked in the freezing room, with Shoe's blood covering her, and her ears ringing.

XXX

Rossi heard Hotch's message as they ran to the building. "Reid and JJ, I want you to find Prentiss, be prepared, Shoe is armed. Morgan and I will head for the rest of the men, we have back-up on their way."

They followed Hotch's directions as three squad cars arrived and the officers came up behind them. They lined up down the hall and continued through the maze until they could hear talking in the next room. Rossi nodded towards Morgan and he kicked the door down.

The sound of Agents yelling and threats being made filled the room, but JJ and Reid continued on. The went down the closest hall and together searched each room, only to continue coming up empty handed.

They could still hear Morgan's voice over the muffled noise down the hall as JJ and Reid approached the last room. It was on the left side of the hall. They held their guns out and felt for the handle- just like the others, it was unlocked.

Reid opened the door, and JJ entered, seeing two bodies, both on the floor. Reid followed her over to them, and they saw it was both Shoe and Emily. Emily was covered in blood, and JJ immediately kneeled down in front of her.

"Emily, are you okay?" She prayed her friend wasn't hurt too badly, but all she could see was the blood.

"It's Shoe's," Emily whispered, not bringing her eyes to JJ's.

For the first time JJ noticed more than the blood. Emily was wearing barely anything, just a corset, and her underwear. Her body was red and bruised and blood trickled down the side of her face. She was shivering, and seemed to be in a daze.

"He's dead, JJ," Reid said from over where Shoe was, "Emily got him in the chest and he bled out."

"Okay," JJ tried not to be glad someone was dead, but seeing everything she had, it was hard. "Reid, give me your jacket, okay?"

Reid glanced over at the pair, but then turned away quickly. He took his jacket off and handed it to JJ who then wrapped it around Emily's shoulders.

"Can you stand up, Em?" JJ asked gently, it looked like Emily had aged years in just these days away.

Emily nodded and clutched JJ's hand, then Reid hurried over, and tried to help too. Emily gripped the front of the jacket closed, not noticing that blood had seeped through it. She limped down the hall with a friend on each of her side, but she couldn't help but look back.

Look and see the monster she had killed. But now he looked like nothing. A coward. She thought of all the women he had killed. And the ones he had traded. She couldn't figure out which was worse. The women that were traded would never be the same, she could only hope that Aaron had found them, and saved them. But they would never be okay, they would still be haunted by their memories, they would have nightmares of Shoe, and the other men who had exploited them.

"Come on Emily," JJ pulled Emily back, and together they walked through the building.

XXX

The corners of Emily's vision were blurry and her legs were still shaking. Reid's jacket kept her warm, a big improvement from the cold room Shoe had taken her to. As she looked around she saw the men sitting in the back of police cars.

Emily noticed women being carried out by paramedics, stretcher after stretcher, and wondered what they had found. Emily grimaced and thought of how weak she must look with JJ and Reid both helping her walk out of the building, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She was tired, sore, and she really wanted to go home.

She knew Hotch had been right about this mission, they weren't the same coming out of it, and their relationship was definitely never going to go back to the way it was before. Not after all that had happened.

"Emily!" Hotch called out, Emily followed his voice to see him jogging over. The smell of his cologne assaulted her senses and she felt calm, suddenly wishing it was Aaron helping her over to the ambulance.

"I can take her from here, guys." Hotch's arm slipped around her waist and Emily leaned into him, closing her eyes as her head rested on his shoulder.

"What happened?" Emily asked quietly. Hotch sighed and kept moving them towards an empty ambulance.

"I was led to a basement where they were keeping women in cages." Hotch told her, "The team was already on their way. I'm sorry we were separated, Emily."

Emily chuckled, "I can hold my own, Aaron."

Hotch smiled and turned his head to press a light kiss to her forehead, "I know."

They approached the ambulance and Hotch helped Emily climb into the back, "Are you going to be okay?" He asked, Emily nodded and offered a tight smile.

"I'll ride in the ambulance with you." He said, taking her hand and squeezing it. He wanted to make sure she was okay, and not just physically.

"You don't have to do that, I'll be fine." Emily closed her eyes and she slowly began to lay down on the stretcher.

"I want to," Hotch said quietly and gave her hand one final squeeze before the paramedics began hooking her up to IV's and attending her injuries.


	14. Epilogue

**Hey guys! We're so sad to say that this is the last chapter to our story :( It's been so intruiging and enjoyable to write this, and you have all been so gracious with your reviews, questions, favorites, and alerts! We wish it weren't ending, but we felt like it was right to finish up here. We'd love to hear what you think about the conclusion to our story, and we'd also love for you to check out our other work :)**

**- pinkturtle55 and ijustwantyoutoknow**

**We do not own Criminal Minds**

Over the next week Rossi had to sit and listen while Strauss chewed him out about the undercover mission. She yelled at him about his not notifying her, and then lectured him about FBI protocol. Rossi couldn't keep his mouth shut, and his words just resulted in more and more lectures from Strauss. She threatened to take his badge away, all of theirs in fact, but Rossi knew she would never follow up on that. He knew, because when she read the conclusion of the case, she smiled.

Before flying back to D.C., Morgan spent a few nights with his family. He sat Cindi down in the living room and told her everything that happened. When he told her of all the women they had saved, and the capture of all the men, she hugged him. But when he told her that Shoe was dead, she cried. Anthony walked into the room, and ran into his mom's arms.

"I love you mommy, why are you crying?" He asked with concern only a child could show.

"Cuz I just love you so much, Anthony," She brought her little boy into her arms and hugged him until he squirmed away and brought his Uncle Derek outside to play catch.

A few months after their capture, each man was tried and convicted. More kidnappings and murders were tied to them, and each was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole. Hundreds of people followed the trials, and showed support for the women whose lives were affected.

Each woman coped differently. All had physical wounds, but they also had ones that couldn't be seen. They returned to their homes and while some healed, others didn't. But all of them still woke up in the middle of the night, nightmares of their time in the cage plaguing them. Some had families, and others were destined to live alone. But they all had something that no one else did- the knowledge and the memories of what happened back there.

Over the next few months Emily and Hotch continued to grow in their relationship. There were many problems that came up as a result of their time undercover, but just as Hotch had promised, they took it slow. They began to trust each other more and more each day, and each day the memories of the case began to shrink.

Neither of them would ever forget what happened, but being together helped them cope. They were the only ones who understood what happened behind their bedroom walls, and what had been waiting for them in that warehouse. They had memories, but they became less significant.

Emily started visiting Aaron at home again, and formed a relationship with Jack. They would kick a soccer ball around together, and sometimes she would help him with his homework. Aaron could never help but smile when he saw the two people he loved together.

Now, two years later, Hotch and Emily were walking down a DC street after having dinner together. Hotch had an arm around her waist and a hand in his jacket pocket, playing silently with the small box inside.

Emily was leaning comfortably into his embrace, her own hands resting in her pockets for warmth from the chilly autumn air. Hotch led her to a bench that sat before a small grassy park and they sat down.

Little shops, all of them getting ready to close at this hour, lit the street and sidewalk. Hotch became nervous as he thought about what he was doing. Emily's head rested on his shoulder and he took a deep breath.

"Emily?" Hotch pulled away and tipped her chin with his finger, "You know that I love you, right?"

Emily studied her boyfriend for a few moments, "Of course, Aaron. I love you too."

Hotch grasped the box tightly in his hand and leaned in for a quick kiss. Pulling away he whispered, "You are amazing, Emily. You are beautiful, you are sensitive, honest, loving. I couldn't ask for anything more in you."

Emily smiled at Aaron's words, he was always making her fall deeper in love with him. Hotch moved closer to the edge of the bench and pulled the box out of his pocket.

"I love you so much and I've realized," Hotch quickly got down on his knee and opened the box, "I've realized that I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Emily's hand covered her mouth and she was trying her hardest to hold tears back. All she could do was nod in shock as she allowed Aaron to slip the ring onto her finger.

As soon as the silver engagement ring was in place, she wrapped her arms tightly around Hotch and kissed him, "I love you." She whispered and went in for another kiss.


End file.
